Nights With His Knight
by Laurabeast
Summary: Jaime is forced to stop for a moment, and think about all the things he's done for Breinne, and why. Once he realizes some things, he can't ignore them.
1. Chapter 1

**A quick fix before the new episode!**

Pod's song trailed off, and an eerie silence filled the hall. They all let it sink into their homes like the chill of the North so often did.

"Well I'm off to try and get what little sleep I can." The onion knight left without Tormund unfortunately. Brienne had been unable to keep her eyes from drifting to Jaime since she had retakes her seat as a knight of the seven kingdoms. She doubted he understood the magnitude of the gift he had given her, but every time he caught her eye and graced her with a small smile she could feel the wildling's eyes on her.

"We should do the same Podrick." Brienne got to her feet, shifting close to Jaime's side. "Thank you." She whispered in his none of the others could overhear. He looked over with wide eyes, momentarily shocked, but he smiled up at her.

"Right, goodnight all." Pod excused himself as instructed.

"Goodnight sir Jaime... Tyrion." She said as an after thought , only just realizing her rudeness.

"Sir Brienne." Jaime rose when she moved to leave , putting mor e respect in his farewell to Brienne than he had his greeting of the queen.

"I will come with you. Make use of what could be our last night. Fucking makes a man fight like a bear!" Tormund grinned and got up to follow her.

"No! No, I only wish to rest." She tried to bite back her deep desire to prevent his following her, and maintain her manners. Jaime tried to hide the bark of laughter that bubbled up at the look on her face. His eyes followed her as she left, waiting for her to be long gone before sitting back down.

"I'm going to make giant red haired babies with her!" Tormund said with a far of look of perversion.

"No you are not." Jaime said without thinking, even in his drunken star Tyrion arched a brow at him.

"I will! You see the way she looks at me. She is glorious, and our babies will conquer the world." He wandered out of the hall, and all Jaime could do was shake his head.

"That's four now." Tyrion said, he looked over to prompt future explanation.

"Four times you've acted out of character for sir Brienne of Tarth. If I didn't know better I might think you were pining after her." He sipped at what precious little wine he had left in his cup.

"Don't be absurd, I am serving under her tomorrow, and she more than deserved a knighthood. I can think of two dozen knights who aren't even half as true as her." Jaime tried to explain away his actions.

"Alright, I can accept that, but you still search her out in a crowd, and jump to her defense when others make advances. In fact now that I think of it you also brought her to King's Landing. You've never brought a woman to a place you knew Cersei would be." Tyrion had seen them in private consort more than once during her stay, and he knew his sister had as well.

"How could I not, she was under my protection." He stared into the fire to avoid the prodding that made him think too deeply in his actions.

"Under your protection. I thought you were her prisoner. Though she did say you saved her I suppose, and lost your hand for it." Tyrion watched his brother carefully as the memory played out. Such mixed emotions crossed his features.

"Yes, I convinced the Tarth was called the Sapphire isle because it's wealth of sapphires. I tried to push my luck when it worked, and lost my hand for it. She spoke to me as I wallowed in self pity as very few ever had. I was so ready to give up when I lost my hand... Unfortunately my interference did more harm than good for her as well as myself. The ransom offer they received though more than generous for Tarth seemed insulting because I had convinced them of the wealth of Tarth. Had I not returned for her the bear would have ripped her apart." Jaime smiled when he remembered getting in the man's face, and succeeding in freeing her.

"The bear?" Tyrion moved to the edge of his chair, suddenly fascinated by the tale.

"Yes, they had her fighting a bear in an awful dress with only a wooden sword. Had I not jumped in to save her she wouldn't have had a chance." Jaime looked over at Tyrion's shock, not quite sure why he was so awestruck.

"You jumped into a out to save her from a bear? With a crossbow, or a sword?" Tyrion seemed to be evaluating his madness.

"Niether. I was a prisoner of my own right. I knew they wouldn't let me die." He shrugged, this conversation was beginning to annoy him.

"Let me get this straight. You jumped into a pit, unarmed, to fight a bear, in order to protect Sir Brienne. Then brought her to King's Landing, and even though she worked for the Stark's amred, and armored her, setting her free without a second thought, and you say you don't love her?" Tyrion sucked down the last of his wine in disbelief .

"Of course I love her. She is my friend, perhaps my only true friend outside my family. She has saved my life more than once, and I have confided in her of things I hardly allow myself to think about. I am not however in love with her. She is as..." He trailed off, not sure what to like her with. No one had ever collection a place in his life.

"As a sister to you?" Tyrion smirked as he spoke, and Jaime frowned.

"Brienne is so far the opposite of Cersei that it can't even be expressed. She is honest to a fault, with a purer heart than any I know." Jaime snapped, he didn't know why the comparison angered him so.

"No, of course not. Even in looks they're opposite. Cersei despite her many flaws is beautiful. Unlike our giant friend. She looks more like a man. " Tyrion weighed his words, watching Jaime scowl in response.

"Brienne may not be a frail, or elegant lady of the court, but her eyes are as blue as the waters of her homeland, and having seen her naked body I assure you she has far more feminine appeal than her armor reveals. " Jaime found that hearing Tyrion dismiss her like that bothered him even more than his previous assumptions.

"You've seen her naked?" Tyrion went wide eyed, Jaime smirked, the memory. burned into him as if it had happened yesterday. The ferocity, and respect she commanded even without a stitch in made him shudder. A woman with the strength to defy those around her had always made him stand at attention.

"When we were captives, yes. We shared a bath. I admit, perhaps if I had not been in love with Cersei I would have been tempted." His words teetered dangerously close to the feelings he had been hiding from himself since he lost his hand.l

"Do you still love our sister? Do you truly expect to survive this, and return to her?" Tyrion set his cup down and rose from his chair.

"No. I suspect I will die tomorrow. Even if we win I don't think I am skilled enough to survive the fight without my hand. Even still I would never return to her after what she did." Jaime whispered , Tyrion put his hand on Jaime's shoulder.

"Than why are you not tempted?" He whispered back in kind before he left Jaime in silence before the fire. It frustrated him how his brother made mad ideas seem so plausible. He got to his feet, as if his body had made the decision his mind had yet to fully accept.

"I do not want your company! I respect you as a fighter, and perhaps even a friend, but no more! Leave my room!" Brienne's anger echoed through the hall, and Jaime bit back a

"This is news to me! Is it that crippled man? I will fight him for you!" Tormund puffed up, Brienne feared if he didn't leave soon she would fighthim.

"I assure you she Brienne is more than capable of fighting in her own behalf." Jaime spoke from her doorway, startling them both.

"So it is him! I could crush him with one hand, but then woman often choose strange men. When he does in the battlefield know that you're still welcome in my bed!" Tormund shoved past Jaime , who couldn't stop laughing.

"I'm glad you're amused by my torment. What are you doing here? Not that I don't appreciate you ridding me of the wildling, but I did plan to rest." She moved towards him, and for one minute he wondered if he should simply kiss her, but her tirade at Tormund made him cautious. Instead he let her close the door to let the hearth warm the room.

"I wanted you to know why I left King's Landing. You spoke for me when you didn't have to, you said things that I've needed to hear since the day I killed the king, and I thought you deserved to know that I left for you. I don't know, or care about anyone here, except you, and my brother, in fact that could be said of all of Westeros at this point. When she asked me to betray you to appease her I couldn't. I chose you over her, and I don't fully know what that means, but I know you're the only person I have ever made that choice for, and I wanted you to know." He couldn't look away from her, the way her sapphire eyes bore into his soul.

"I'm sorry it came to that. I promised you once that I would never ask you to betray your house." She slumped back to sit on her bed. She had stripped off her armor, but still wore the thick winter clothes of the north. He moved to sit beside her, and she didn't protest.

"No one else could have." He whispered, moving his good hand to rest gently on hers. She looked down at there his skin warmed her fingers.

"Have you ever loved anyone besides Cersei?" Her voice shook, he risked a glance at her, his face nearly her equal in it's blush.

"Not in a physical sense, thought of late my affections have found purchase in an unexpected place." He met her eyes, and she quickly looked down at the floor.

"You are the only man who has ever touched me outside of battle, or the forced etiquette of a ball." She whispered, it made his heart thunder against his chest to hear her say it.

"I... Hearing Tormund's blatant sexual advances towards you angered me more than I expected. I don't want anyone else to touch you." He shifted to face her, his hand moving up to brush his fingers across her cheek in question. When she leaned into his touch he guided her to face him, leaning in to press his lips to hers for the barest of moments.

"I'll never be her, I am nothing like her." Brienne felt tears well up in her eyes as his brow leaned gently against hers.

"Never have any words been such a comfort to me. She inspired the worst in me, and I never understood how twisted I had let myself become until you saw the honor in me. Please Brienne, I am not the man she made me. Let me stay with you tonight, so I can stand with you tomorrow as the man you believe I can be." He brushed his fingers through her hair, and she pushed forward to capture his lips.

What she lacked in experience she more than made up for with passion. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him into her until he could breathe her in. His gold hand pressed into her back sending a shiver of cold through her tunic. He nipped at her bottom lip, earning a gasp that allowed him to deepen their kiss. They both tastes of wine, and she pulled back. For a moment he thought pressed too far.

"Take it off. It's so cold." She ordered, before returning to their kiss. He fumbled with the ties behind her back until it clattered loudly to the floor. He brought his arm back to their embrace, catching awkwardly at her shirt, which rode up, letting her heat seat his skin where he touched her bare flesh.

"Stand up!" She got to her feet, and for a moment he froze, mesmerized by the path of her hands as she pulled her tunic over her head.

"Now." She said, and he sprung up, trying to rip off his clothes, but the ties of his armor made his hasty one handed attempts even more clumsy than ever.

"I could use a hand." He looked up at her sheepishly with his cloak off, but caught in the clasp of his armor. She laughed, her bare chest heaving in delight, and again he found his focus distracted. Between the two of them it took only moments before they were bare before each other for the second time. All the confidence, and urgency in Brienne drained away while he stared.

"Lay back." He whispered , his hand brushing along the curve of her hips so lightly she could have been imaging it. She sat down on her bed, and laid back as she had been told. To her surprise instead of moving over her, and taking his pleasure as she had heard it said men often did he knelt at her feet, his hands gliding up her long legs.

"You are a goddess." He whispered , leaning down to kiss the inside of her thigh.

"Jaime!" She gasped when he swiped his tongue up the center of her most intimate place. His hand moved up to caress her breasts while his crippled arm held him up.

"Let me worship you." His voice against her sex made her hips raise to his mouth, and he dipped his tongue inside her to take the sweet honey there. He brought his hand down to thrust into her while his mouth went to work just a bit further north. He didn't know how long they had, but he needed her to feel his love for her in every inch of her body in a way he couldn't yet express in words.

He felt her quiver around him as her whole body lifted from the bed, and a strangled outcry of what he thought might be his name left her lips. Her whole body shook as she slumped back, and he finally lifted his sodden face with a smile of satisfaction. He moved over her, his cock so hard he could hardly think, but he waited for her glazed over eyes to find his once again while his tip only pressed against the slick inferno of her sex.

"Do you want me to stop?" He whispered, leaning down to kiss her neck. She moaned, cleaning to the side to afford him better access. Instead of answering she wrapped her long legs around his waist, and pulled him without warning all the way into her. She gasped at the sudden twinge of pain her careless action had caused, and he nearly collapsed on top of her, noting into her pale skin much harder than he had intended.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." She looked away from him, she didn't know what she was meant to do, but she felt bold with him.

"No, you feel so good around me I nearly lost myself. Did I hurt you?" He kissed the deep purple mark on her pale neck, blowing in it gently.

"No, I... I liked that." She touched the mark. She had scars, and each one made her proud, the idea of him leaving his mark on her body made her squirm beneath him in excitement.

"Do you want me to do it again?" He spoke into the hollow of her neck before sucking gently there. He could admit marking her have him an unexpected thrill. He had never been allowed to leave a mark of Cersei.

"Yes, please Jaime. I'm not some fragile lady of the court. I want to see your touch on me." She takes her nails down his back, causing him to buck into her hard while he nipped at her neck.

"Get on top." He said, cursing, not for the first time, how difficult his missing hand made everything.

"I will crush you." She went wide eyed, he said out of her, and into his back.

"You will not, I need my hand." He reached over to dip his fingers into her sodden heat when she didn't move. She groaned, shifting over him. He positioned himself, and used his arm on her hip to hide her down. She gasped at the new angle, rocking forward wantonly.

"That's it love, ride me." He bucked up into her, his fingers working her clot while he sat up to ravage her breasts.

"By the Gods, Jaime! Jaime! Yes!" Any pretense of silence escaped her as she fell over the precipice of ecstasy. Hearing her come undone, and feeling her tight around him overwhelmed his self control. He spilled into her, jerking as the sensation swelled to a bliss he had never experienced before. She collapsed onto his chest, both slick with sweat, and breathing hard. He wrapped his arms around her, content to remain as they were forever.

Just as his eyes drifted Shut the horn sounded. The night had come. They donned their armor as quickly as they could, and charged out into the biting cold to lead her men. Even if he died before the sun rose he would die happy.


	2. Chapter 2

They stood side by side in front of the men as the dead descended on them, she lead her men with such commanding respect that Jaime wished he had time to admire her in his fear. As they bore down on them he found they weren't nearly as formidable as he expected. Widow's Wail cut them down as he made sure to keep Brienne at his right. His armor clanked against hers as they stood back to back.

The shield strapped on his golden hand had long since shattered, leaving one leather strap dangling from his arm with a chunk of splintered wood. His arm burned with the exertion of swinging his sword through the endless waves of corpses. They weren't strong, but they just didn't stop coming. One of the Thenn cut through their men, and rose his arm up and the dead stood for their cause.

"Brienne." He nudged her shoulder to draw her attention to it, she nodded, shoving through the wall of the dead. Jaime guarded her back as they closed in around them. He could hear her sword clash, and feel her back press against his when the Thenn's blade bore down on her. He twisted around, his golden hand stopping the blade as it came at her. As soon as the wicked thing touched his prosthetic it exploded. Golden shrapnel but into his cheek, but he pressed forward, driving his blade into it's chest. He felt her shove him aside as the huge chunk of the dead fell back to dust.

"Jaime!" She fell into him, and he scrambled to catch her.

"Brienne, Brienne what's wrong?" He shifted over her, and the blood oozed out over the plates of her armor.

"Brienne!" He hooked his arms under hers, trying to drag her back through the lines.

"Help me carry her!" He yelled at anyone he saw until someone listened. They got her to the Maesters, there were so many injured laid out on every surface. An old man pointed him to a corner free of wounded, and they laid her out there. Jaime started to strip her armor as best he could with one hand until Pod found them.

"Is she alive?" He dropped to his knees to help remove the last of her armor.

"I don't know! Get me a bandage!" He pulled up her tunic to reveal a deep wound in her side. This has happened to her because she had saved his life, she couldn't die. It was supposed to be him. He took the bandage from pod, and pressed it into the wound with all the strength let in his one good hand.

"Get a Maester over hear now, I don't care if you have to sit the throat of ever y wounded soldier in here to do it! " Jaime glared up at Pod, deathly serious. The boy scrambled away to do as he was told.

"Come on love, you can't leave me." He whispered , his brow pressed to hers. It seemed as if it took ages for the Maester to arrive, but it was likely only minutes. He was waved off, and Pod seemed anxious to return to the battlefield. Nothing seemed further from Jaime's mind in that moment, but he followed the boy. He could do nothing for her, but he could ensure the safety of her squire.

The stumbled back as three men burst through the door, the one at the center dangling between them with some kind of sickly blue spreading across his chest from the small wound.

"What happened?" Jaime asked once they had handed him over to the Maesters. One of the boys looked at him, he couldn't be more than seventeen years, and the fear in his eyes made Jaime shiver.

"One of those blue Thenn cut him. Hardly a nick. He weren't even aiming for him." Jaime nodded, there were more of them out there, and taking them down would decimate their numbers.

"Come on Pod, I have a plan." He ran out to the let flank, Brienne's men were fighting off the spillover from the left center, but the formation was getting sloppy, and in the back men were just staging the dead to a pile of burning corpses.

"Call the men to you Pod, we need to reform the ranks, and push across the field." Jaime looked around, trying to spot the ranks of generals on their horses.

" What? Sir Jaime, you are Brienne's second in command not me. " Pod took a step back from him, Jaime looked up in shock. That would not have endeared her to these men.

"Men to me!" He bellowed above the road of the fight. Pod moved through them, gathering more to him until the back flank that had been collecting bodies fell into formation. He lead the charge to the side of the army, hearding them in towards the unsullied. He kept Pod close, and his eyes sharp for the Thenn.

"With me!" He yelled when he spotted one, pointing his men at the monster. They swarmed down upon him, but they couldn't see the giant approach from behind.

"Archers!" He slices his sword through the heel of the giant's left leg, and it kicked him through three men before it fell to the ground. His head spun, but a smile found his lips as large chunks of the army fell to dust. He got to his feet, but the world spun around him.

"Sir Jaime, your head! " one of the soldiers took a step back, clearly unsure if he'd been killed, and raised up. Jaime lifted the back of his hand to the throbbing in his head, sure enough it came away dripping blood.

"Keep together, kill the Thenn, and they all fall!" He called out, stumbling backwards. He pulled his glove from his hand, and used it to staunch the blood. He tried to work his way towards winterfell, but the faster he tried to move to slower his progress seemed to become. Why was everything grey? He blinked, and realised he was looking up at the sky from his back. Some one had a hold of his boots, and his head drug across the ground.

"Stop! I can walk." The first word came out fine, but as he tried to struggle to his feet his words lost form. The young lad dragging him yellped, and the next thing he knew his feet were dragging across the ground while two lads carried him.

"Wake up, you may be concussed!" A clap in front of his face made him jump, the sudden movement made his head feel as though it split open, and had been filled with wild fire.

"Your bedside manner is somewhat lacking." He mumbled , the man nodded, peeling open his eyes, and moving a candle in front of each one.

"You don't seen to have brain damage, you passed out from the blood loss. Keep the stitches clean and dry. They can be removed once the wound heals. See one of us in a week to check on it." The Maester held out a small cup, Jaime raised a brow at it.

"What is it?" He frowned.

"Milk of the poppy." He held it out further towards Jaime.

"No, no milk of the poppy. Where is Sir Brienne?" He sat up, the maester shrugged, and poured the cup back into the jug.

" I don't know who that is. " he got up, and left, Jaime looked around the room, trying to find her, but people seemed to be shuffling those who were treated out as fast as they could.

"Well, well, Sir Jaime Lannester lives again. They told me you were among the dead." Tyrion came over to help him up.

"I nearly was, they were taking my body to be burned before I woke. Is the fighting still going on outside?" He stretched his bruised chest, his shoulder popping loudly.

"It has all but ended, I hear you lead the charge to take down the Thenn raising our dead. Jaime are even hailing you a hero in the battle of the damned." Tyrion grinned, Jaime shook his head, walking with slow, deliberate strides.

"I can assure you I only killed one, and certainly not by myself. She Brienne is due the credit in all of it." He stopped to learn against the wall his a hand on his head.

"Where is she?" He whispered , Tyrion let his brother lean on him.

"I'll take you to her. She certainly had a legend of her own right now. Her men were the first to clear their flank, and they saved hundreds of lives because of her. Lady Sanza made sure she was moved to her private quarters. I believe Pod has been doting on her since she woke." Jaime smiled, pleased to hear they had both made it.

" I went to her before the battle. " Jaime spoke so softly Tyrion almost thought he misheard. He knew his brother was more than capable of keeping secrets, and he had to talk to someone.

"Well that is good news. We're you well received?" Tyrion slowed their pace to draw out the conversation . Jaime had never spoken to him about his love life before.

"Yes, I think so. Now I fear she only allowed it because we were about to die. I've never been in the position to be rejected, does it always feel like this?" Jaime wore a comical look of worry under his bandages.

"I'm afraid so, welcome to a normal life. On the bright side of anything does go wrong we can always drink away our sorrow." He gave what passes for a reassuring smile between them, which only made Jaime feel worse.

"I never thought I would be the one lacking in experience in this area. I don't even know if I love her. I... I think I must, or I never would have left King's landing, but it's nothing like it ever felt with Cersei. I just want to make her smile." He shook his head, and instantly regretted the motion.

"That's love alright, and I couldn't be more pleased that it's nothing like anything to do with our sister. She brought out the worst in you, and Brienne, well she brings out the best in us all." Tyrion lowered his voice as they approached Brienne's room.

"Well find out! I don't care who you have ask, I need to know what happened!" Brienne's anger echoed through the halls, and Jaime tried to stop the smile that crept to his lips.

"This is where we part ways, I want nothing to do with whatever had her in that mood." Tyrion turned around, and Jaime stood in her doorway to wait for her to finish.

"Of course, but you need to rest Sir, they told me you shouldn't try and sit, much less scream." Pod brought her a steaming bowl of soup.

"Save your breath Pod, you can't tell her a thing." Jaime said, Brienne tried to sit up in shock, Pod nearly spilled the soup.

"Sir Jaime! They told me you died." Pod set the bowl on the wardrobe beside the bed to embrace him. He parted the boy's shoulder , trying to keep his injuries safely away from his arms.

"Podrick please go see to Lady Sansa in my absence. I'm sure Sir Jaime is more than capable of reminding me I am useless at the moment." She didn't look away from Jaime when she spoke. Pod looked between them for a moment, taking in the way they stated before he quickly retreated.

"They said you died, but I couldn't believe it." She whispered, wiping at the rear stained cheeks. Jaime locked the door behind Pod, and went to her bedside.

"Very nearly. May I?" He gestured at the empty space beside her, but the question weighed heavy with other implications. He would leave if she asked, but he wanted nothing more than to lay with her.

"Of course Sir Jaime." She shifted further up with a whince. He sat, and removed his boots, unsure how much else he would be allowed to remove.

"Jaime." He said, looking into the fire at the far side of the room.

"What?" She reached over to lose the ties on his armor, careful to keep from moving her waist.

"I think you can simply call me Jaime, after last night Brienne." He stripped out of his armor, setting it aside with great effort .

"Oh. I... If course." She looked down at her hands, he stood for a moment to lift the covers, and slide into the bed beside her, his back leaned against the headboard.

"Do you regret it?" He looked over at her unable to tell if the flush in her cheeks came from his words, or the memory of the night before.

"No, but I know you love Cersei, I don't expect anything from you." She wished she could stand, or even turn away from him.

" I do, she's my sister. I will always love her, but I can hardly stand to look at her now. Everything... Everything she ever did seemed to make sense in the twisted way she explained it to me. I accepted that we had to be cruel to stay safe, but after I met you I realized her lies. I let her do horrible things, and helped her do worse. I have never been a lower version of myself as when I am with her. I love her, but I think it's been quite a while since I've been in love with her. " He couldn't meet her eye when he spoke of Cersei, and she didn't date speak and break whatever spell had him confiding in her.

"I sent you away from King's landing not just for my oath, but also because my friendship with you upset her. She saw something I didn't. I didn't even realize how much I missed you, how pervasive your influence had been to my life until I saw you again at the Blackwater. I tried to convince myself that I only felt your absence so vehemently because I was alone. Except I still missed you when I returned to her. Seeing you again while I stood beside her... I didn't understand why it upset me so much, but now... I was angry because I was on the wrong side. Brienne I want to fight beside you for the rest of my life. I want to be the man by your side." He finally looked at her, and she was crying. He went wide eyed, not sure what he'd done wrong now.

"I have never felt what it is to be loved by a man, but I can't imagine it in a better way than that." She smiled like she had the night before, and it made his heart skip. He leaned over to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

"We look like shit." She laughed, her breath warm against his cheek.

"And still you take my breath away. This is the second time I've lost this hand for you." He held up the stump with the tatters of the leather brace still on it.

"Good, we can get you something more sensible than that awful golden hand. I swear, I've never felt anything so cold. " She settled back, and he laid down to hold her while they rested. They still had a long way to go before they were safe, but he knew there was nothing that could stand between them now.

**The end for now. We'll see how the next episode goes.**


End file.
